Italian

Next to pizza, pasta is another item that many GF diners find themselves missing. It doesn't have to be that way at these Italian restaurants, where you can not only indulge in naturally GF dishes such as gnocchi and risotto, but house-made GF pastas at places such as Coppa and Prego. And at chains like Carrabba's, you'll find entire GF menus.

Carrabba's Coppa Ristorante Italiano Maggiano's Patrenella's Prego Sorrento

Fine Dining

Being gluten-free doesn't mean sticking to chains or having to make everything at home. You can get fancy, too, with anything from Texas quail with a summer corn tamale and huitlacoche sauce at RDG + Bar Annie to flourless chocolate cake at Mockingbird Bistro. While not all of the places listed below have separate GF menus, they're all notable for being extremely flexible and adaptive to the needs of GF diners.

Aura Backstreet Cafe Fleming's Haven Indika Mockingbird Bistro RDG + Bar Annie Underbelly Vic & Anthony's

Cute & Casual

Like most of the places listed above, these are non-chain spots throughout Houston that are receptive to GF diners even if the restaurants themselves don't have dedicated GF menus. Most of the items on the menu at Roots Bistro, for example, are naturally gluten-free, such as its raw "squashta" tossed with spinach, tomatoes, carrots, beets and a ginger dressing or sautéed Jerusalem artichokes with vegetables, beet puree and pesto. Ditto Pondicheri, the little sister restaurant to Indian favorite Indika. And at Ruggles Green, you'll find a handy color-coded menu that denotes which of its many items are vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free or all three.

Cafe TH Canopy Kenny & Ziggy's Pondicheri Roots Bistro Ruggles Green

Vegan & Vegetarian

Vegan doesn't necessarily mean gluten-free; after all, it's easy to make vegan wraps, crackers, bread or other products from wheat, rye, barley or other grains containing gluten -- so beware. But when you're eating at vegan or vegetarian places that specialize in raw food, your chances of encountering gluten products drop significantly. Ditto for places such as Radical Eats, which are both vegan and Mexican.

Doshi House Green Seed Vegan Radical Eats

Food Trucks

Finding a food truck that serves GF items can be tough. Fortunately, there are places like Bare Bowls -- which offers dishes such as market-fresh vegetables on basmati rice -- and Monster PB&J, where all of its sandwiches come with a GF bread option.

Bare Bowls Green Seed Vegan Monster PB&J

Coffee Shops

What's a cup of coffee without a pastry or snack on the side? These coffee shops are notable for offering goodies from some of our favorite vegan bakeries around town, such as Sinfull Bakery, as well as raw treats from folks like Pat Greer.

Antidote Coffee Black Hole Coffee House Inversion Taft Street Coffee Waldo's Coffee House

Did we miss your favorite gluten-free spot? Share it with others in the comments section below.